“All of these executives employed strong communication skills to steer successfully through setbacks and crises and increase their company’s reputations and bottom lines. Conversely, leaders of organizations like BP, Toyota, Pennsylvania State University and MF Global made bad situations worse through communication failures and blunders.

“In business and in life, communication skills often mark the difference between winning and losing,” says Virgil Scudder, a New York-based media trainer who has coached and counseled business leaders for more than 30 years. “As we’ve so often seen, failing to communicate effectively at critical times can be devastating to the fortunes of a person or an organization.”

In his new book, World Class Communication: How great CEOs win with the public, shareholders, employees, and the media (Wiley; October 2012), Scudder draws on his experiences in coaching and advising some of the world’s most successful corporate heads. The book includes tips for navigating through a crisis, increasing employee loyalty and morale, and building a successful career. It is a practical guide, complete with real case studies, specific instructions and motivational tips that will be valuable to anyone who wants to communicate better by learning from the best.

World Class Communication reveals in detail the secrets of The Scudder Method, a system that many top CEOs have used to become great communicators.

“It’s been estimated that 90 percent of a CEO’s job is communication,” said Scudder, “and for any other manager, I think the figure would be at least 75%.”

Irene B. Rosenfeld, the CEO who turned around a struggling Kraft Foods, agrees. She noted, “As the ‘face’ of our company, my words are carefully scrutinized every time I speak, and they often live in perpetuity in cyberspace. It’s not only what I say that matters; it’s also how I say it. A hesitation, the wrong tone, or even an unconscious gesture on my part can affect our stock price.

“That’s where Virgil Scudder comes in. For years, he has capably advised my executive team and me. That expertise is now compiled in this thoughtful and instructive book.”

James M. Kilts, the former chairman and CEO of The Gillette Company, said, “The Scudder Method works for giving confidence, power, and persuasiveness to any communicator. The skill that Virgil brings to his one-on-one training sessions is now available in his exceptional book that covers all the bases to achieve world class communication success.”

Virgil Scudder, who wrote the book in collaboration with his son and business associate, Ken Scudder, has coached and counseled clients in more than two dozen countries on five continents. He has headed his own firm, Virgil Scudder & Associates, since its founding in 1990, after leading the media training units of two of the world’s largest public relations firms, Carl Byoir & Associates and Hill & Knowlton. Prior to that, Scudder was an award-winning news broadcaster at major New York radio and television stations and networks.

January Host/Sponsor

Jill Center, Content Manager/Copy Writer/Editor, Alameda Alliance for Health, is our host/sponsor for this program. She is a member of the San Francisco Public Relations Roundtable Board. Jill workedwith Virgil Scudder, whileshe was a Senior Account Executive at Hill & Knowlton Hawaii, to successfully team train some of her clients: members of the cabinet of then-Hawaii Governor John Waihee. She subsequently left H&K Hawaii and, building on her extensive journalism and national political background, became Communications Director for the Price of Paradise project—including two best-selling books and The Price of Paradise program for Hawaii Public Radio. Then, and now, she continues to use The Scudder Method, which she, too, was trained in while at H&K Hawaii.

To guarantee a seat you must make your reservation via Eventbrite, by our midnight, Thursday, January 17 Deadline—or until limited reservation slots have been filled. So, do not delay. We continue to sell out and do not like to disappoint. Vegetarian meals can be accommodated ONLY if requested ahead of time. No changes allowed except for health reasons.